


The Final Frontier

by HuliaTheWriter



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, Falling In Love, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Love, M/M, OT5 Friendship, Starfleet Academy, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-17 20:59:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4681277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HuliaTheWriter/pseuds/HuliaTheWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Star Trek AU with Captain Louis W. Tomlinson, Commander Harry Styles, Chief Helm Niall Horan Chief Communications Officer Zayn Malik and Chief Medical Officer Liam Payne.</p><p>“Where are we goin’ today, Mark?”</p><p>“Outer Space.”</p><p>“We should go explore Uranus, Commander.”</p><p>“Is that a phaser in your pocket or are you excited to see me, Captain?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Epicness_Defined](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Epicness_Defined/gifts).



> tumblr: larrywellingtoncurse

**Chapter One**

_Shields down to 30% and lowering. Oxygen levels at red alert._

“Captain, now would be a good time to do something.”

 

_Pressure at critical level, immediate attention is required._

“Captain…”

 

_Shields down._

_Oxygen levels low._

_Pressure levels low._

“OH FOR GOD’S SAKE, LOUIS.”

 

Louis’ gaze remained on the screen in front, the cracking glass from the pressure not wavering his sight. Around him the deck appeared in chaos, his crewmates awaiting for his call, Liam being the most annoyed. What did he know though? He was just a Medical Advisor.

_All Systems down._

The ship plunged into darkness, a collective sigh signalled through the deck. Louis sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair, waiting. He knew this. He knew what would happen.

Seconds passed.

A minute passed.

Until finally…

_All systems at 100%_

“WHAT?” Liam spluttered from Louis’ left, shooting looks from the screen in front to Louis. Around him his crewmates all seemed just as confused as Liam but Louis pushed on.

“Lieutenant, fire all weapons at Klingon War Ship, leave none alive.” The nerdy lieutenant to Louis front right nodded, still in shock from Louis’ previous actions. However, he pressed the correct button sequence and before their eyes the Klingon ship exploded in deep space, the vibrant colours radiating in Louis’ eyes. “Now save those civilians and get us out of here.”

A loud buzz signalled the end of the training sequence. The lights returned to normal and Louis was met with the faces of his examiners instead of outer space. They stared at him, in what resembled both shock and disappointment. Louis could not care less. He rose from his seat not sparing a glance at his classmates and patrolled out of the exam room, Liam hot on his tail.

“What the hell was that?” Liam asked as they came to a stop outside of the exam halls. Louis turned to look at him. Liam Payne had been Louis’ best mate since birth. The two were undoubtedly close and were each other’s reasons for joining Starfleet in the first place. Liam went into the Medic Corps, with hopes of one day being the Chief Medical Advisor on a ship. Louis on the other hand wanted to be Captain. Ever since he was little and his step father told him tales of Captains of the great Starfleet he had wanted his own ship. Especially after hearing a discussion one night between his parents on how Louis’ father had died a Captain. He’d commanded a fleet into Klingon Space and died going down with the ship when he could have easily escaped. He had allowed for his own crew to escape but not himself. For that, Louis was resentful. He could have had a father if it wasn’t for the bastards that were Klingons.

“That was me winning, Liam.” Louis said sharply, deciding to walk on past other students and get to his halls of residence. Liam sighed beside him.

“That was cheating, Louis. Not winning. You’re going to get in trouble for this.” Louis rolled his eyes, making his way to their small room. Keying in the code he stepped inside and relaxed. “No one beats the Kobayashi Maru, Louis. No one, it’s a no-win scenario.”

“Well I did, so whoop de doo.” Liam stared at him blankly. “Look, I’ll just say I made a mistake and panicked, the board won’t notice a thing.

* * *

 

“Louis William Tomlinson, do you understand why you stand before the board of education today?” Louis let out a breath of air. The room was silent, strange seeing as it was filled with all of his graduating year at Starfleet. Louis shook his head in ignorance. Next to him on his right was his tutor, Captain Corden.

James Corden had been Louis’ tutor since he joined Starfleet three years ago. But before that he’d also been a solid weight in Louis’ life. Since his stepfather left Louis, his mother and siblings six years ago, Louis had lacked a male figure. He had then progressed on to drinking in pubs with older people, getting into bar fights and letting his instinct take over in the worst situations. That was until Starfleet officers came around town to rally up some cadets. Corden had found Louis amidst of a battle against Nick Grimshaw who, although older, was just as immature. Corden separated the two, told Grimshaw to sign his arse up to Starfleet and then took Louis’ home. It was then that Louis found release in talking about his father, to someone who knew him.

His dad had been Corden’s tutor when he was younger and that small sense of pride bubbled in Louis for hours afterwards. Corden had then managed to convince Louis to sign up to Starfleet, to make his mum proud and stand in his father’s footsteps. Only now did Louis regret his decision.

Corden smiled sadly at Louis who bit his lip, waiting for Head Councillor Cowell to continue. “Yesterday you took the Kobayashi Maru for the third time and failed it once more.”

“Sir, I don’t believe that I-“

“Silence, Tomlinson.” Louis narrowed his eyes at the grey haired git. “Seeing as almost everyone passes this test I am beginning to wonder why you haven’t.”

“Because dying is clearly not passing, sir.” Cowell let out a humourless laugh. “The options available to us should not have ultimately allowed it to end the way it had.”

“This test is proof of a no-win situation, you know of those, Tomlinson?” Louis nodded briefly. “Then you would know that a no-win situation appears in the wider world. I will get someone to read out the overview of the test for your benefit.”

Louis scoffed but remained silent. He could see Liam in his eye line, twitching in his seat, worried.

“Styles.” Louis looked to where a boy now stood, a blush on his face. He had a mane of brown curls cascading around his face which was pale and light compared to his blue Starfleet shirt. His green eyes did not meet Louis’ as he looked to Cowell. “Styles here has been one of the few to help improve the test. Now Harry, what is the test really about?”

Styles, or Harry as he was called, blinked slowly before coughing and beginning.

“The Kobayashi Maru is a no-win scenario. The goal of the exercise is to rescue the civilian vessel Kobayashi Maru in a simulated battle with the Klingons in deep space.” He rubbed his hands together, fidgeting in an almost endearing fashion. “The disabled ship is located in the Klingon Neutral Zone, and any Starfleet ship entering the zone would cause an interstellar case. The captain of the Starfleet ship must decide whether to attempt rescue of the Kobayashi Maru crew which would endanger not only that of the Kobayashi Maru but also his own ship’s lives, or leave the Kobayashi Maru to certain death. If the captain chooses to attempt rescue, the simulation is designed to guarantee that the Starfleet ship is destroyed, proving the no-win circumstance.”

Harry did not look at Louis as he spoke, merely stared at the floor, cheeks flushed and hair curling into his face.

“Excellent, sit down.” The boy did not and Louis turned back to face Cowell. “Well?” He asked Louis.

“I don’t believe in no-win situations, sir.” The room felt eerily dead as the board stared at him. Cowell looked disappointed, a look Louis knew well. “I believe there are always options.”

“Your father did not have one.” The temperature in the room dropped significantly. Louis felt his pulse quicken at the mention of his deceased father. “He went down with his ship.”

“He was a fool to do so, there was an escape.” Cowell tightened his lips, his eyes watching Louis sadly. “He could have escaped but he didn’t.”

“And that’s what makes him more of a Captain than you’ll ever be. Until you learn that, you’ll never have our own ship.” Louis stared at the floor, feeling as though he’d been punched in the stomach. He brought a hand up to ruffle through his hair, a habit he’d taken up at a young age when feeling slightly stressed. “For now you’re sanctioned. Consider this a warning, Tomlinson. Next time you’re out.”

Cowell rose from his seat and left the room, his fellow councilmen doing so as well. The room erupted into whispers which soon dwindled as people left. Liam nodded to Louis who signalled for him to go on without him, he felt that James would want to speak to him.

“Excuse me.” Louis whipped his head round and found himself facing the boy from the stands. Harry Styles stood pigeon toed in front of him, teeth out and biting his upper lip. He waved at Louis meekly. “Hi, I just wanted to say um…” He blushed profusely under Louis’ gaze and coughed slightly. “I guess what I wanted to say was that…” He shook his head in annoyance and Louis felt the need to comfort the boy. Yet he remained still, expressionless and waiting.

“Yes?” He asked coolly, not quite sure why he was acting the way he was. Harry’s eyes widened and he stumbled a bit more on his words before he finally settled.

“Just wanted to say that I think you’re right.” Louis snapped his gaze to Harry’s, confusion setting on his face. “You should fight till your last breath and… that the test is an unfair representation of what you would really do in that circumstance.” Harry let out a breath as he finished, cheeks presenting a lovely shade of pink. He nodded one before turning around and walking off. Harry had never shared any of Louis’ classes and they’d never spoken before. All Louis knew was that Harry was a brainbox who knew sixteen intergalactic languages and was someone who spent his time in the library, reading up on things that Louis couldn’t even bother to think about.

Yet as he walked away Louis stared at him, mouth open in shock. He wondered whether all of Cowell’s favourite secretly hated the system or whether it was just the curly haired, long limbed ones.

“Louis.” Louis stopped in his trail of thought as Corden’s voice echoed through the now empty room. Louis felt his eyes sting, water forming. “Turn around.” Louis did so, clenched fists and face contorting to contain himself. Corden looked at him sadly, his eyes full of something like worry. “Louis you’ll never pass if you keep this up,” Louis scoffed at that, “you’ll never get a ship if you can’t understand these things.”

“I know sir, you tell me on a regular basis.”

“I shouldn’t have to, Louis. You’re one of the brightest kids here.” Once again Louis scoffed, kicking his shoes against the ground, eyes lowered. “Your average is one of the highest in the whole of your year.”

“Who beats me?” He asked jokingly.

“Styles.” Louis laughed quickly, stupid for asking a question he most likely knew the answer to. Corden nodded before nudging Louis with his shoulder.

“Listen, kid, just knuckle down to your studies and pass the test next time. Forget your stubborn soul for one moment and think of your future?” Louis didn’t reply, only waited till Corden sighed and walked off in the opposite direction, leaving Louis standing in the hall and staring up at the large canvas behind the boards seats.

_Captains of Starfleet ships who died heroically in battle._

Louis tore his gaze to the familiar name etched upon the stone. His father’s name. He wiped some of the collecting water near his eyes and looked away, finding himself looking at the list of names for the Captain’s second in commands. He looked down the list to find the man who worked alongside his father until his death. The man who became Captain automatically after his father went down with the forsaken ship.

_Desmond Styles_

Louis could almost laugh at the irony. How fucking cliché. He wondered whether the only reason Harry had been nice to him was because his own father had allowed his to survive, to escape unharmed. How fucking good for him, to have a father in his life.

Storming out of the board room, Louis sniffed at how much he hated it here and wondered why he joined.

 

* * *

 

“I mean, she’s new, a baby in comparison to the others but she would be fast once I’ve finished with her.” Louis banged his head upon the desk as he listened to an obnoxious Irish accent spilling through the library.

Louis had sent himself there in hopes of drowning himself in intergalactic law, something he was rather good on but instead was met with the voices of Styles and some Irish git loudly talking in the back.

It was late at night so seemingly the librarian was okay with their mindless chatter.

“That’s great, Niall. I’m so glad you’re having fun.” Styles’ happy voice racked through Louis’ brain and he wondered what the quickest way to kill himself was.

“But she’s honestly gorgeous, any captain would be lucky to own her.” Ah so they were talking about a ship! “How did your simulator go?” Louis’ ears perked up. The simulator was his favourite exam. It was a propelling G-force ride that tested your reactions whilst pummelling through a planet’s atmosphere. Louis’ physical fitness allowed him to be the top of the class in that test and the third highest ranker in the history of the test.

“Terrible…” Louis frowned at the way Styles said it. “I’ve never been more embarrassed. I can’t do the height, Niall.” Louis heard a sniff come from their way and pouted. He may dislike Styles but it wasn’t the end of the world when you failed a test.

“I-“

_All Starfleet to the command centre, immediately. I repeat, all Starfleet to the command centre._

Louis jumped up just as Styles and his friend came round the corner. Styles’ eyes were blotchy and misty, a sign that he’d been crying and Louis would have said something if it wasn’t for the red alarm going off. The three of them made eye contact before dashing off to the command centre.

The command centre was near where all of the fleets’ ships lay in dock, large and already running. Louis frowned. What the hell was going on?

They soon trampled through to find Corden standing on a block, listing of names of cadets and assigning them ships. Louis looked to find Liam but couldn’t see him amongst the crowd.

“Grimshaw and finally Lloyd, both to Andromeda. Any questions? No. Okay move out.” Louis frowned once more. He looked to see both Styles and his friend doing the same thing. Harry then pushed past Louis and walked over to Corden, hair flowing down freely. Louis caught up with him, intent on listening in.

“Sir.”

“Styles.”

“Why have I not been assigned a ship?” Corden turned round, sighing and shaking his head. “Am I not the brightest in the year? Sir, you know my knowledge on the Klingons is extensive and I speak the language, that’s something barely anyone around here can do… If you look at my record I can-“

“Harry.” Harry stopped speaking, closing his open mouth. “You haven’t passed the simulator, we can’t take you up into space without it.” Louis watched as Harry’s face fell, creases forming on his forehead. “I’m sorry.” Corden then turned to Louis. Louis smiled meekly. “And you’re on sanction so you can’t come anyway.” Louis grunted but allowed it. What he wanted to know was what was going on.

“What’s happening?” He asked, surprising Harry who turned to face him, wide eyed and mouth open. Louis paid him no mind.

“We’ve had a distress signal from U.S.S.Cassiopeia… She’s close to Klingon space and we can’t have that.” Louis nodded slowly, mind wandering to how he hated the Klingons. “But it’ll be alright, we’re sending out two ships with cadets and you will stay here and look after the base.” Louis scratched the back of his neck.

“Stay safe, yeah?” He said. Corden nodded and pulled him in for a short hug.

“And you too. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.” He winked and Louis stared in confusion. “Don’t worry, Louis, you’ll get into the enterprise soon enough, it may just take some time.” And with that he gallivanted off to his own ship leaving Louis thinking.

“I can’t believe this.” Louis faced Harry who was staring ahead at the now leaving ships. “I cannot believe this.”

“Chill, Princess.” Louis said. Harry whipped round, nearly hitting Louis with his mane.

“Excuse me!?” He asked, face showing a blush. “I am not a princess!” He said, lightly stomping his foot. Louis smirked and looked at the boy up and down.

“Yeah you are.” Louis left him like that, pouty and shocked as he wandered over in search of Liam. His search proved useful as he found Liam sat down at the back watching the ships fly off.

“Yo.” Liam said. Louis nodded and they lived in the moment when utter silence surrounded them, the ships having left. “My nerves got the best of me.” Louis nodded. Liam had a fear of flying and it was understandable. “Besides, couldn’t have gone anywhere without you, mate.” Louis chuckled and leant back in his seat.

“Wonder what’ll happen.” Liam shrugged, watching Harry complain to Niall as the Irish boy started working on a small ship to the back of the room. He wanted to help. He knew he could help and it was unfair that he was sanctioned to remain here when the dangers of Klingon war was threatening Starfleet.

“Dunno.” Louis sighed deeply and smiled as Niall peeled back the letters on the ship, their bright blue font.

 “Look at that ship. It’s got to be finished by now, right? What a beauty to ride...” Louis smiled. Liam looked at him knowingly.

“Louis… No.” Louis stood up, Liam not far behind, and jogged over to the other two cadets who had now been joined by an ominous figure standing to the side slightly in the shadows. “Louis this is incredibly dangerous.” But Louis was not listening, only one thing on his mind.

“Lads.” The other two turned to face him, the third cadet not removing themselves from the dark. Harry blushed as Louis came over, his cheeks tainted with pink. “Anyone fancy taking a ride?” They all looked up to the ship in front of them and Niall dropped his hammer.

“I…”

“Louis this is not what Corden would have wanted?”

“Oh no, Liam. This is just what I think he wanted.”

“Even if we did this there’s only four of us-“

“Five.” The figure stepped out of the shadows revealing a passive looking cadet with a contoured face and brown eyes. Beside him, Louis heard Liam’s breath hitch a bit. “I’m a specialist in the Comms department. I can speak, translate and refer to over fifteen languages.” Harry snorted at this and Louis shot him a look. “I want to help. The name’s Malik”

“Well there we go!” Louis cried. Liam looked at him warily. “And Niall can drive the baby, or so I’ve heard.” The blond lad chuckled deeply and patted the ship.

“Aye, and I’ve got a mate, Mark. He’s a great Engineer.” Louis smirked.

“Great. And Liam, you can be our Chief Medic.” Liam blushed a bit at the statement. “And I’ll be Captain obviously, we can round up some cadets and bang boom, potato, and spoon. Solid.” A cough took Louis away from his little faze.

“And what will I be doing?” Louis smirked at the pouting curly haired boy.

“Why, Commander, I do believe you’ll be my second in command.” Harry stuttered out something incoherent and smacked a hand to his mouth. He nodded nonetheless and Louis smiled widely.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Liam pressed. Louis grunted.

“When have I ever let you down, Payno?” Louis didn’t give Liam any time to respond as he continued, “I think it’s a terrible idea. And that’s what makes me sure I’m doing the right thing. After all it takes time to get into the enterprise.” Louis stressed the last word and all five eyes shot up to the name of the ship.

Louis smirked at the ship in front of him and nodded. Harry looked at him, pink lips curving up to a smile and Louis knew he had realised what Corden was on about. This was the beginning of his career, and this was his own ship.

_U.S.S Enterprise._


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We’re following Captain Corden’s ship to the outer reaches of the neutral zone near Klingon space. Should take us three hours.” Louis bit his lip and stared at the coordinates.
> 
> “This is it, Harry. You can back out now.” The curly haired man shook his head and smiled at Louis.
> 
> “Captain, we’re ready to go.” Louis smiled back at him and walked over to his seat, sliding into it as everyone watched him.

[The Post On Tumblr With Pictures](http://larrywellingtoncurse.tumblr.com/post/127865788060/larrywellingtoncurse-star-trek-au-with-captain)

**Chapter Two**

_“Tell me about the ships, Mummy!” The woman chuckled, making sure her son was tucked in all tight and comfortable in his space man bed. She stroked her hand down her little boys face, smiling at how innocent he looked, all blue eyed and soft._

_“Well, as we all know, little one that all of the Starfleet ships are big and fast!” She smiled softly as her son nodded his head of unruly hair quickly, hugging his Sehlat toy closer to his little body. The toy had been a gift from his father, before he had died when he had visited Vulcan and had encountered the large carnivore on a short trip there. The boy never went to bed without it, even though it was a couple of years old now._

_“Really fast.” He agreed with his mother._

_“Yes. But all of their names begin with U.S.S. Do you know what that means, little one?” The woman stroked her hand through the caramel locks of her son whilst he pouted, eager to answer correctly._

_“Yes… The… United Space Ship?”_

_“Yes, baby. Good job.” The little boy giggled into his toy, proud that he had got it right. He wanted to be like his Daddy and he was sure that if he remembered all the special details he would be. “And there are SO many ships that they all have different names.”_

_“What was Daddy’s?” The woman smiled sadly, looking at her precious little boy. “Did he have the best one?” She nodded, leaning forward and kissing his head._

_“His was the USS Pegasus and it was a very important ship.” Her blue eyed baby looked up, eyes wide and mouth open slightly._

_“Where’s it now?”_

_“I don’t know, baby. In space somewhere, still…” She dragged off at the end, feeling the familiar formation of tears welling in the corners of her eyes. She refused to cry though, never cried in front of her baby, he didn’t deserve to see her like that. She needed to be strong for him._

_“I’m going to have my own ship.” She sniffed, smiling widely as her baby proceeded to ramble. “And I’ll be captain, just like Daddy. And I’ll bring justice to the Universe, Mummy. I promise.” He stuck out a small pinkie, a solemn look on his small face. The woman took his pinkie into her own. “Promise.” He whispered once more and she knew, even though he was just a little boy, she knew that he would grow up to be something great. And although he wanted to be like his father, she had a feeling he would be more than just a captain. The woman was scared, but she have faith in her baby. She had faith in Louis._

* * *

“Book 19, Section 433, Paragraph 12 states the regulation concerning the ability of ranking Federation officials to give direct orders to Starfleet officers. Now, concerning this regulation I would wonder why you felt the need to direct yourself as Captain and dictate the roles of the others whilst no senior member has done so for us.”

“You are just a walking pile of mumbo jumbo.”

“Excuse me, I will have you know that I am the highest in the class.” Louis took a deep breath as he scanned down the list of items he needed for his Starfleet ship. Besides him Harry was babbling away, long hair flowing as he stated with a sudden fierceness the rules and regulations of Starfleet and their officers.

“Princess, now is not the time to be citing this shit.” Harry scoffed, green eyes glaring at Louis. “I just gave us roles that fit us best. Now, can you please put yourself to use and find me a crew? There’s a good first officer!” Louis watched as the long legged Bambi strode off, blue suit hugging tightly across his broad shoulders. Louis shook his head in disbelief, what had he gotten himself into.

Looking around, his plan was coming together. Louis held a sense of heroic nature within him, something that probably was a curse. He believed in the right thing, justice and good prevailing over evil. From the moment he didn’t hear his name he knew he wanted to help, and sitting around was not going to do anything. So he stupidly thought that stealing a ship and posting himself into space with no real training and not having graduated was a good idea…

“Is this a good idea?”

“No Liam.”

“Okay.” Louis glanced at his best friend. The man, just like the rest of them, had fitted himself into his official Starfleet uniform. A good look on Liam if Louis didn’t say so himself. A little ahead of them, Niall and a large man were conversing by the ship, the blond Irish man jumping up and down excitedly. The other man, Louis assumed, was Mark who was going to be their Chief Engineer. Niall had informed Louis that he was great at navigation and could easily take up the Helm for the ship so all in all everything was coming together.

“Captain.” Louis snapped out of gaze to find Liam had left and had been replaced by Malik. Louis eyed the man carefully, something was up with him.

“You’re not human.” Louis inwardly cursed his running mouth as Malik looked taken back. He recovered quickly however and stood calmly in front of him. “Sorry.” Louis said, cringing. Malik nodded.

“It’s alright. I’m Romulan.” Louis’ eyes bulged. He knew very little on the Romulan race only that they were from Romulus and held a very strong Empire, sometimes waring with Starfleet. Romulan’s were also difficult, and Louis had an uneasy feeling about Malik. He’d have to ask Harry soon about them.

“Right, well… What did you want, lieutenant?” Louis felt a sense of power after he said it, Malik only shot an eyebrow up in humour.

“I followed the transmissions from Cowell’s ship as per your request and was confused as to where they led.” Louis frowned slightly, facing Malik fully, giving him his undivided attention. “Sir, if we were to follow Cowell’s ship we wouldn’t be entering the coordinates that Captain Corden’s two cadet ships went to, in the Klingon neutral zone.”

“And where would they take us?”

“Very close to Vulcan, sir.” Louis scratched his stubble. He thought it would be a good idea to track both Corden and Cowell’s ships so that they had two ships to follow in the unlikely event of losing one. However, he was not prepared for this.

“Maybe Cowell is off on another mission. Right now we’ll follow Corden, Cowell is Head, and he must have his reasons.”

“You’re different than the last time I saw you, Sir.” Malik said. Louis questioned him. “The second time you took the test I was there.”

_“We are receiving a distress signal from the U.S.S. Kobayashi Maru. The ship has lost power and is stranded. Starfleet Command has ordered us to rescue them.” Louis looked to where a man sat, dressed in his Starfleet attire, his badge naming him Malik._

_"Starfleet Command has ordered us to rescue them... CAPTAIN." Louis said, smirking to himself. Malik licked his lips before nodding. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Liam rolling his eyes._

_“Two Klingon vessels have entered the Neutral Zone and are locking weapons on us.” He said._

_“That's okay.” Louis responded, settling into his chair._

_"That's okay?" Liam parroted._

_“Yeah, don't worry about it.” Liam looked like he was going to explode._

_“Did he say ‘Don't worry about it’?" Malik asked Liam who suddenly froze up when the other looked at him. “Is he not taking the simulation seriously?”_

Louis shuddered at the memory and patted Malik on the back.

“Thought I’d see what would happen if I didn’t do anything until last minute. It turns out in fact you shouldn’t do anything AT ALL and then you’ll break the game.” Malik stared at him blankly before nodding slowly and swiftly turning around, heading off to Niall and Mark.

Louis stood, arms crossed, staring at the ship. The USS Enterprise was big, bigger than he expected but still quite a small vessel. He had yet to go inside and what with the amount of cadets now pouring into the bay, Louis decided it was best to begin boarding. He snapped his fingers at Liam from across the room who nodded, beginning to help people pile the necessities onto the ship.

Louis then strode ahead, nodding to any of the other cadets who took in his yellow captaincy shirt and trembled a bit. Heading inside, Louis was met with the bright lights of the new ship, his ship. For now at least. He was technically stealing it but he wouldn’t admit to it, Styles would have a ball day.

More people milled round him and Louis was suddenly struck with the question of how did Harry get all these to work for them without them knowing it was an illegal mission. Well, Louis supposed it was because Styles did have a way with words, being the brightest in their year and all.

Going to the Command Deck, Louis entered the elevator and went up, the bright lights whirling past him. Quickly the doors opened and he was met with a beautiful sight.

The deck was bright, white and just like Louis had dreamed a deck would be like. To his right and left the command centres littered the outside, their buttons and screens now turned on and ready to be booted up. Down by the large pane that showed the outside world was the Helm. Niall would be sat there, controlling the Navigation and Speed of the ship, taking off and landing by just using a few buttons. And then there was the masterpiece. Right in front of him sat the Captain’s chair, new and clean, ready for Louis to sit in.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Louis nodded as Harry made his presence known. The curly haired man strode forward, Starfleet pad screen in hand and assessed each part of the ship, green eyes scanning intensely and hand furiously scratching out something on his screen. Louis couldn’t help but admire his First Officer.

“What do you know of Romulan’s?” Harry froze, his stylus having stopped its adventure. Harry looked up at him, confusion etched on his face.

“Romulan’s… Um?”

“Just tell me everything you know.” Louis slunk down in his seat running a hand through his hair as Harry came to stand by him. The taller man coughed before placing his screen down.

“Romulan’s are a humanoid species hailing from the planet Romulus.” Louis nodded, hand coming to cover his mouth and chin, eyes staring straight. “They’re cousins with the Vulcans and um… First contact was made with them before in 2180 um something… um I forgot the year…” Harry stumbled, blushing profusely. Louis smiled at him, amazed by the knowledge he held. He nodded him on. “They were isolationists for some time until matters arose in which they acknowledged Starfleet and um, yeah.”

“What about their relationships with other species?”

“They’re a bit…” Harry drawled off, “racist, if you were to say and aren’t the friendliest but they seemingly hold good relations with um… with the Klingons- Sir why are you asking me this?” Louis rubbed his hands together. On the one hand he wanted to keep his suspicions close, he had trusted the wrong people in the past and he didn’t want this to end badly. However, Harry Styles was the one person in the world that was seemingly just good. Louis had anointed him First Officer as well so he should most likely tell him.

“Malik is a Romulan.” Harry’s forehead creased together slightly. “I know that no Romulan has entered Starfleet in three hundred years. So why now?” He sighed dragging a hand down his face. “I’m probably just being problematic.”

“Well, probably. But a good Captain always questions things he is unsure about.”

“A good Captain doesn’t cheat on the Kobayashi Maru…”

“That is true. Regulation 17.43 is related to Starfleet's ethical code of conduct, and is part of the Starfleet Code. Starfleet Academy cadets found cheating are accused to be in violation of the regulation. So… Yes a good Captain should maybe not do that.” Louis smiled sadly at the ground. He twisted his fingers together whilst thinking. “However, the same Captain also broke the code in which states a member cannot fly without passing the simulator and without breaking that… I wouldn’t be here so… In my eyes, you’re a good Captain.”

Harry left Louis sat there, eyes trained on the screen and mind running in circles over what he said.

* * *

 

Louis watched as Niall and Mark came in, sat in a large carrying vessel, and took the Enterprise up. Louis knew he’d next see her up in Space but he missed the ship, even as he watched her be pulled out of the Earth’s gravitational field. He smiled and turned to go find a free pod that would take him to the docking station positioned by the moon where the Enterprise would now be docking.

He came across pod 45, the others having jetted off. Louis was not sure where Malik or Harry were but he had a suspicion they’d already gone up.

A commotion drew him to 45 and he inwardly laughed. Liam stood by a tall man arguing. The taller Flight Officer tried to get Liam in his seat and was failing. Louis plonked himself next to Liam, a smirk on his face. The Flight Officer saluted his Captain before turning back to Liam.

“You need a doctor.” He said calmly as the sound of the pod lifting up echoed through the room.

“I told you people I don't need a doctor, dammit - I AM a doctor!” Louis chuckled at Liam’s thrashing, ignoring helping his best friend. Liam stood up and tried to walk away but was tugged back. Louis strapped himself in, eyes glinting at what was occurring.

“You need to get back to your seat.”

“I had one. In the bathroom with no windows.” Louis snorted and Liam shot him a glare.

“Sir, you need to get back in your seat, NOW.”

“I suffer from aviophobia - it means fear of dying in something that flies!”

“Sir, for your own safety, sit down or else I'll make you sit down!” Liam finally flopped in his seat, eyes watching as they were taken up into the atmosphere and surfacing in space. Louis patted his best friend’s leg.

“Why’d you join Starfleet if you hate flying, mate?”

“Someone’s gotta follow your reckless arse.” Chuckling, Louis watched as the Earth became further and further away.

* * *

 

“I am so ready for this.” Louis nodded as he and Niall walked, well skipped in Niall’s case, onto the deck. The ship was now fully operational and all crew members were in place, the deck just had to decide where to go and Louis just needed to address everyone.

“Ever flown one properly before?”

“Oh, no.” Louis closed his eyes in disbelief for a second before looking at the Irish man. “But it’ll be fun, right?” He wandered off to his seat leaving Louis standing there. He shook himself off and walked over to where Malik and Harry were having a detailed discussion. Malik looked pressed whereas Harry looked on in disbelief.

“ _Rhivann.”_ Harry clucked in what Louis assumed was Romulan. Malik nodded. _“Arhem ssuajukhe!”_

_“Dhat temainhha”_

“Bop bop rifehfeb” Louis smiled even though the two in front of him sent him disapproving looks. “What we chatting about?” Harry straightened up and looked at Malik. Malik nodded shyly and Harry turned to face him.

“Lieutenant Malik was just informing me on why he joined Starfleet. It seems he was banished from Romulus at a young age.” Louis frowned and looked to Malik who smiled slightly. “He joined Starfleet in hopes of the possibility of reconciling with his family and seeing his mother once more.”

“What did you do?” Louis asked, drawing himself closer to the Romulan. Louis took in how Harry leant in too, however not to listen in but rather to place a hand lightly on Louis’ bicep. Louis shook off his thoughts and stared at Malik.

“I believed in different things, Sir.” Louis nodded and drew back, Harry’s hand still on his arm. “The Romulan’s can be unforgiving people.” Louis waited until Malik had gone off to do something to turn to Harry, the First Officers eyes watching Malik carefully.

“Keep a watch.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Are we ready?” Harry nodded, looking at the coordinates that were punched in.

“We’re following Captain Corden’s ship to the outer reaches of the neutral zone near Klingon space. Should take us three hours.” Louis bit his lip and stared at the coordinates.

“This is it, Harry. You can back out now.” The curly haired man shook his head and smiled at Louis.

“Captain, we’re ready to go.” Louis smiled back at him and walked over to his seat, sliding into it as everyone watched him.

He tapped on his side bar and watched as the screen came up and the speaker turned on, the whole of his ship about to hear him. Mark could hear him in the back, Liam in the Hospital Bay, everyone.

He took a deep breath and flicked the on switch. Niall smiled at him and Louis nodded.

“Captain's Log, Stardate 2258.42. This is your Captain, Louis W. Tomlinson speaking. We have been sent to the neutral zone close to Klingon space. So far a distress signal has been sent from the USS Cassiopeia. It is our mission to source out Cassiopeia and successfully aid them in whatever they need. We will be arriving in the neutral zone in less than three hours. Until then, all will continue as advised. More to come when we arrive.”

“Ready to roll, Captain.” Niall smirked looking to Louis. Louis nodded at his friend and flicked his wrist. “Thrusters ready and here we go.” The ship made a noise and then suddenly… nothing.

“Um, Niall?” Louis asked the blond lad who smiled sheepishly.

“Forgot the brake!” He chuckled to himself whilst the other crewmembers looked to each other. “Now we can go.”

The ship suddenly lurched forward, propelling itself into space, the screen in front showing them the outside.

“Warp speed.” Louis commanded and watched in glee as his ship left Earth space and into warp speed, heading towards their destination.

 

* * *

 

“Sir…” Louis turned to Malik who was furiously scanning his signals, his fingers tapping away mercilessly. “Sir, we’re heading to the neutral zone but…”

“What?” He asked, standing to come over to Malik. Harry looked at him but Louis diverted him off. The man scowled but did as he was told.

“There are no signs of life, sir.” Louis frowned and watched as the scanner scanned the space they were about to enter. “There’s nothing that’s coming up.”

“Styles.” Harry was at Louis’ side in an instant, green eyes alert to the screen. He tapped a few things and then changed the order around but still nothing. Harry huffed.

“He’s right, but that’s impossible.” Louis felt his stomach twist. Something was up.

“All members to positions.” Harry shot him a look but Louis ignored him. He sat in his seat and told Niall to bring up the screen.

“Arriving at the neutral zone in ten…” Niall said. Louis leant forward, eyes watching the screen intently. The seconds passed slowly, the ship bumbling as it soon came to a slow down. “One.”

The space in front of them soon changed them to something that lurched Louis in all the wrong ways. The scene was utter chaos. Space was littered with pieces of debris, different parts of ships floating whilst others were still exploding. Louis rose from his seat in panic. A collective sound came from his crewmembers. The USS Cassiopeia flew past them, destroyed. In the distance lay the remains of the Andromeda. Louis’ eyes widened as he saw the USS Sirius, Corden’s ship, on the verge of destruction.

“Scan for life. NOW.” Louis roared. Malik did as he was told and the crew all watched in shock and Niall had to avoid the debris from hitting the Enterprise.

“Sir, there are still life forms on the Sirius.” Louis nodded.

“Bring up the screen.” Harry did so and the screen lit up, awaiting the Sirius. “Sirius, this is the USS Enterprise. This is Captain Tomlinson speaking. Do you read me?” Nothing. Louis tried again. “USS Sirius, this is the Enterprise, are you there?” Still nothing. Louis sighed and turned around to go to the elevator.

“Where are you going?” Harry intercepted him.

“To get those people off.” Harry’s mouth opened. “I’m going to be beamed onto the ship once we’re close enough.”

“But it’s moving, you can’t teleport onto a moving ship, that hasn’t been invented yet.” Harry said, following Louis into the elevator and staring him down, red lips open.

“I know that, but I can’t sit around. The ship will lull itself for a bit and in that time I’ll beam on.” Harry still wasn’t budging. “Look, Harry, Corden could be on there.”

“I’m coming with you.” Louis shook his head but Harry pressed on. “No, Captain. You need me.” Louis grumbled but nodded.

“Malik, take command for now until I’m back.” Harry looked to Louis in shock but Louis just saluted Malik and pressed the button, sending them down into the ship.

They strode past crewmembers until they reached Mark down in Engineering. He looked at them in confusion, Louis going straight to the station.

“I need you to beam us down to the Sirius.” Mark opened his mouth to argue but once again Louis was quick to it. “That’s an order.”

“Sir, I can’t guarantee you to come back, the Sirius is floating away, Sir.”

“I’ll try and stabilise it once aboard. Now beam us down.” Mark nodded and Louis turned to Harry who stood by him. “Last chance to go.” Harry shook his head of curls and stared straight on, breathing heavily. “Okay… Beam us down, Jarvis.” Mark nodded and tapped in the necessary codes until the orange swirls took them in and sent both Harry and Louis spiraling onto the Sirius.

 

* * *

 

“The oxygen is low, Captain.” Harry said, coughing into his elbow, phasor up. Louis nodded and looked around the brig. “There are no life forms here.” Harry stared at his wrist screen and frowned.

“We go straight to the deck.” Harry confirmed this and the two of them slunk out, noticing how silent and ruined the ship was. Where was everyone? The hallways were deserted, only the distress signals channeling through.

“This is strange.” Harry said. Louis agreed, something was up.

“Keep an eye out. We don’t have much time.”

“We have twenty four hours technically…”

“What?”

“General Order 6 states that if all life aboard a Federation starship has perished, the ship will self-destruct within twenty-four hours to protect other ships from potential hazards within.” Louis stared at Harry opened mouthed, the boy was a literal genius. “However, I certainly did not read up about this.” Louis smiled.

“Not even the brightest in the year can come to imagine real life.” Harry sent him a look, eyes fuelled with something. “The books don’t teach you this.”

“They’re important.” Harry mumbled as they sped off into the abyss of the ship, slightly unsure as where they were going. “But the knowledge is all I have.” Harry but his pink lips after this. “I’m not a very good First Officer… I failed my simulator and to be honest I don’t think I could fire this.” He nodded to his phasor and Louis smiled sadly.

“How many languages do you know again?” Louis asked, wanting to see a small smile on his First Officers face. Harry looked to Louis, cheeks slightly pink.

“Seventeen, including intergalactic and other regional dialects.”

“And how well do you know the code.”

“All regulations off by heart.”

“I think you’re a good First Officer.” And although Louis may have been mocking Harry’s words earlier, it still brought something to the two of them. Louis wondered how someone as smart as Harry Styles ever thought lowly of himself, because he certainly was thriving in Louis’ eyes.

“Thanks I-, “A noise stopped Harry. He squeaked slightly as the noise became louder. “What was that?” He whispered and Louis shook his head. He didn’t know but he was going to find out, now.

He scuttled forward, heading towards the sound. They had managed to get to the top deck and so the Captain’s deck must be near. Louis signalled for Harry to be quiet who, with all his giraffe limbs, could have found that difficult.

Turning to look round the corner, Louis was met with the sight of Captain James Corden, tied up in front of a tall creature that Louis knew well of.

A Klingon.

Harry quietly gasped besides him and Louis laid a careful hand on Harry’s waist, making sure that he knew not to react. The Klingon was huge and ugly looking, his stance strong and looked like he could take both Harry and Louis down easily.

 _“HoD Hoh.”_ The Klingon growled at Corden, hand coming to slap him around the face. Louis cringed and looked to Harry who was mouthing what the Klingon said, clearly trying to translate. _“Hoch Qaw'ta'”_ Harry gasped once more, eyes wide with fear. He looked to Louis with wide eyes.

“He says the whole crew are dead.” Louis nodded solemnly and turned to look at Harry. He set his phasor to stun and looked up at Harry who was shaking his head. “No, no, no, Louis, don’t!” But Louis had already turned the corner, phasor aimed high.

“Freeze.” Both the Klingon and Corden looked at him. Corden’s eyes widened and he tried to shake his head. Louis’ stance remained strong. “Stand down, Klingon. I’m here on behalf of Starfleet and you have an Officer of Starfleet in your grasps.” The Klingon said nothing, his head tilting to the side as he watched Louis. Louis felt uneasy.

Harry slunk beside him, lowering Louis’ phasor. Louis sent him a questionable look.

“Directive 010 states that before engaging alien species in battle, any and all attempts to make first contact and achieve non-military resolution must be made." Louis rolled his eyes but let Harry do what he felt necessary. _“WIj pong Harry je gehaH HoD Tomlinson.”_ Louis watched as the Klingon recognised his own language, his large frame turning to Harry’s. Louis pressed a protective arm on Harry’s lower back as the younger lad stumbled out some more. _“Roj.”_

Louis scowled as the Klingon let out a horrendous laugh, deep and echoing through the ship.

 _“Ghobe' roj,”_ Harry froze and his face fell, eyes wide and scared. “Starfleet no more.” The Klingon spoke in broken English. Louis immediately lifted his gun to the Klingon who growled, a gun of his own being lifted.

“Put your weapon down, Klingon.” Louis’ deep hatred of the Klingon’s spurring though him. The Klingon refused and smiled creepily. Before Louis could react the Klingon’s hands were on Corden’s neck and twisting it till the loud crack sounded.

Harry screamed next to him as Corden’s dead body rolled to the floor, mouth open and neck broken. Harry forgot that the Klingon was there and flung himself to the ground, trying to check for a pulse.

“Bad move.” Louis’ voice cracked but his phasor never wavered. He set in to kill, eyes locking with the Klingon.

“Bad move, too.” The Klingon said and Louis’ eyes were shrouded with confusion until a thud hit him in the back of the neck and he suddenly saw black, Harry’s screech echoing through his head and he fell.


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Someone try their comms, right now.” Malik ordered.
> 
> “Captain, this is the USS Enterprise, do you copy?” Niall said into the comms. Nothing. “Captain?” Niall looked to Liam with fear in his eyes. 
> 
> “Fuck.” Liam said.
> 
> Health rate dropped ten percent.

**Chapter Three**

_“Stay back, monster!” The two boys giggled as they aimed their water phasors at each other, mud scraping their faces and knees but not dampening their smiles. The older but smaller of the two set a firm look on his face, eyes twinkling with mischief. “I am a Starfleet officer and you shall stand down.”_

_“Oh, parley!” The one with the brown eyes called, falling to his knees in a mocking fashion, hands coming up behind his head and eyes closing shut._

_“Liam.” The boy on his knees opened his eyes to see his best friend with an unimpressed look on his face. “You know you don’t say parley! What is this? Pirates of the Cosmos?”_

_“Sorry, Lou.” Louis nodded, allowing Liam to fall back on his knees and sit down. “I’ll be a better monster next time.” Liam promised, watching as Louis plonked himself beside him. The two best friends then stared out into the night sky, watching as the stars twinkled seemingly just for them. They sat in silence for a few minutes, their breaths breaking it, hushing out into the dipping temperature of the late September air._

_“Just imagine, Li… Space!” Liam smiled at his best mate and leant back on his arms. “The last adventure for mankind…”_

_“I’d visit all of the planets.” Liam confessed, Louis turning to him with a wide grin. “I’d pick flowers from them all and lay them in a vase in my house.”_

_“Where would your house be?”_

_“Vulcan or somewhere beautiful like that. Maybe even further, I don’t know.”_

_“I’d live here.” Liam shot his friend a look. “But have a summer house in the Andromeda Galaxy… I don’t think I could stand being too far away from mum.”_

_“Mum gave me some books the other day.” Liam watched as Louis snorted at the mere mention of learning. “They were all Medical Field books! They’re so interesting, Lou.”_

_“Well, we now know if I fall and break my arse or something, you’d help me out.”_

_“Of course, Lou.”_

_“The Captain has to have a good Medical Advisor.”_

_“Aye, sir!” The two giggled and spent a moment in silence, the distant sounds of the city wafting through the air. “Only ten more years until Starfleet,” Liam whispered, excitement building._

_“It’ll be great.”_

_“Lou…” Louis turned to Liam, the moonlight cascading off of one half of his impish face. “I’m scared.” Louis frowned._

_“Why, Lili?”_

_“What if something happens to one of us? What if we can’t help one another?”_

_“I promise you that I’ll always be there to help you.” Liam smiled and pulled Louis into a hug._

_“And the same to you. I’m your Medical Advisor, and I’ll protect you no matter what.”_

* * *

 

Liam strode through the illuminated hallway, avoiding the busy passing crew members. He had just heard from the main comms that they had arrived in the Klingon neutral zone and he was wondering why no one had been directed to the Hospital Bay. Surely there were people injured?

Louis had not contacted him and told him what was going on so he was going to go and ask Louis in person. So that was why he was in the elevator going up. He whistled a bit whilst it zoomed to the top and then let out a breath as the door opened.

“Permission aboard deck.” He said before looking up, eyes trained on the floor of the elevator.

“Permission granted.” Liam’s eyes shot up. That was not Louis’ voice. He stared on in confusion as in Louis’ Captain Seat sat Malik, the Romulan that Louis had suspicions about. He looked around the room and saw no sign or Louis.

“I’m sorry, where is the Captain?” Malik stood up and smiled at Liam. Liam’s face heated up a bit and he avoided direct eye contact.

“The Captain asked to be beamed onto the Sirius to look for survivors.” Liam shifted his eyes around, searching for a mob of curly hair. “And First Officer Styles accompanied him.”

“Did they take anyone trained in combat?” Liam asked, remembering how it was a necessity to have someone trained in combat to accompany the Captain on their endeavours. Malik blanched a bit and shook his head before returning back to a normal stoic expression.

“No. But I have no doubt of the Captain’s abilities.”

“It’s not him I’m worrying about.” Liam coughed, thinking to how the other two must be arguing over their stark different approaches to nearly everything in life.

“Liam!” Liam smiled as Niall waved him over to his post. The puppy dog man wandered over, avoiding Malik and standing behind the Irish Man.

“What’re you doing?” He asked as Niall tapped in many codes to the screen. Niall grinned and Liam watched as the screen in front transformed into two outlines of humans. One was labelled LWT and the other was HES.

“Got me the boys’ pulses and health bars here so I can make sure they’re okay!” Liam nodded. “They’ve just been beamed on so right now their heart rate is a bit frazzled because of the energy and all.” Niall explained, pointing to the heart rate monitor at the top, beeping and moving up and down. The ship lurched a bit forward and Liam grabbed a hold of the back of Niall, eyes widening.

“Sorry, forgot to put the handbrake on.” Liam heard a tsk behind him but didn’t look. “Stupidly, space craft are built with handbrakes.” Niall said meekly to Liam. The latter just groaned.

“Don’t do it again or I may throw up on you.” He warned, removing his hands from the back of Niall.

“Don’t worry, these things are pretty safe.”

“Don't tell me what’s up, kid. One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in thirteen seconds. Solar flare might crop up, cook us in our seats. And wait till you're sitting pretty with a case of Andorian shingles, see if you're still so relaxed when your eyeballs are bleeding. Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence.”

“Well, I hate to break this to you, but Starfleet operates in space.” Malik retorted from somewhere behind them. Liam nearly growled.

“Yes it does…” Liam sighed and patted Niall’s back. “What about the other ships?” Liam asked, wondering why they had just gone to the Sirius.

“All destroyed.” Liam froze.

“From what?” He questioned, eyes flitting to the outlines of Louis and Harry.

“Well we’re in Klingon neutral zone so anything that wants to fight, I guess.” Malik sad, dully. Liam turned to face him, eyes wide and expression exasperated.

“Klingon neutral zone. Destroyed ships. Captain and First Officer gone. Do none of these add up to you?” He pressed, now fearing what was running through his mind. Malik froze too then, his hand coming up to his mouth.

“Scan for other life-forms.” Malik said behind Liam, now closer than Liam thought he would be.

“One other.”

“Show me.” Niall pulled up next to them the outlines. A trace of an outline appeared and disappeared almost instantly but Malik clearly knew what it was at first sight.

“Oh my god.” He whispered, eyes wide. Liam knew instantly what the other creature with them was, and he felt his stomach drop and a queasy feeling settle over him.

Suddenly the screen stared beeping and flashing. The two outline’s heart rates had increased tremendously. “Shit!” Liam said.

“Someone try their comms, right now.” Malik ordered.

“Captain, this is the USS Enterprise, do you copy?” Niall said into the comms. Nothing. “Captain?” Niall looked to Liam with fear in his eyes.

“Fuck.” Liam said.

_Health rate dropped ten percent._

All the eyes in the room watched as LWT’s health dropped, HES’s heart rate spiralling. Niall was slamming buttons down, eyes watching the screen intently.

“Louis’ down, knocked out.” Liam ran forward and felt useless. “Harry’s still up but his heart rate is fast as ever, he’ll injure himself if he keeps this up.”

“He’s near a fucking Klingon, of course he would be panicking!” Liam shouted. “DO something, then!?” He said to Malik who was clearly debating something in his head.

“Move us out, Niall.” Liam stared at his in shock, mouth hanging open. They were just going to leave them there? On their own? That was basically a death penalty, they’d be killed almost right away.

“Permission to speak freely, sir?” He grumbled, still full to the brim with anger.

“I welcome it.” Malik said, sitting down in his chair, the whole cabin watching him.

“Do you? Okay then. Are you out of your Romulan mind? Are you making a logical choice, leaving Styles and Tomlinson? No. You know, back home we have a saying: ‘No one gets left behind.’ And I’m sure if Harry was here he’d easily come out with a regulation or some law on the matter"

“This is for the benefit of everyone else on the ship.” Malik’s expression remained neutral, angering Liam more.

“Jesus, does it pain you to even look like this was a heard decision for you to make?”

“I intend to assist in the safe capturing of the Klingon and the rescuing of Styles and Tomlinson but first we must re-establish communication with Starfleet. The lives of a few outweigh the lives of the many, I’m pretty sure that is a human term you are familiar with?” And with that, Malik walked off, speaking lowly to another crew member, one who might reinstate comms with another nearby Starfleet vessel.

“Blasted Romulan.”

* * *

 

“Niall.” The blond nodded his head as a greeting to Malik as the latter ignored the glare of Liam to instead speak to Niall, never having properly spoken to the Irish lad. Liam watched on in a flare f anger.

“You are, in fact, the Mr. Horan who postulated the theory of trans warp beaming?” Niall beamed and Liam looked highly confused.

“Aye! Had a little debate with my instructor on relativistic physics and how it pertains to subspace travel. He seemed to think that the range of transporting something like a... like a grapefruit was limited to about 100 miles. I told him that I could not only beam a grapefruit from one planet to the adjacent planet in the same system - which is easy, by the way - I could do it with a life form. So, I tested it out on Admiral Walsh’s prized beagle.”

“Wait, I know that dog. What happened to it?” Liam asked, joining the conversation.

“When I find out, you’ll be the first to know!” Liam cringed slightly, thinking of a dog wandering around a foreign planet or floating in the depths of space.

“Have you ever thought about beaming aboard the Enterprise while she's traveling in space?” Niall stared at Malik blankly.

“That’s highly impossible, sir. The notion of trans warp beaming is like trying to hit a bullet with a smaller bullet whilst wearing a blindfold, riding a horse. Aka, really hard. I tried to write thesis on it, did it but was handed it back because the idea was so radical.”

“Are you still working on it?” Liam pressed, wondering whether Niall believed he could do it. Niall nodded and pulled out from underneath him a pad of paper dotted with equations relating to space.

“We’re moving so it’s hard to get the equations to filter right…” Liam just nodded, unsure as to what it all meant. Malik looked more intrigued.

“Have you asked Officer Styles?” Niall shook his head quickly. “Isn’t he a certified genius?” Malik asked, almost spitefully. Liam took him in. He was besides any Romulan he’d ever seen before. Par from the markings, he looked rather attractive with high cheekbones, chiselled jaw and brooding eyes. All very mysterious.

“H has never seen it. But… maybe when we get them back he can help out.” Liam noticed how Niall used the word ‘when’ and it gave him hope. He turned to Malik and coughed, clearing his throat.

“What’re we going to do then, Captain?” He emphasised Captain and watched as Malik winced slightly.

“Captain Tomlinson and I discovered that Admiral Cowell had his fleet just outside of Vulcan space. If we were to fly there we’d contact Cowell and he’s help us rescue the other two?” Liam nodded. It made sense.

“I’m sorry for getting angry with you earlier.”

“It’s okay, we are all susceptible to feeling anger towards our lovers.” Liam’s eyes widened and he started chocking, his laughter echoing.

“Lovers?” Malik nodded, clearly not finding anything funny. “Louis is not my lover.” Liam confirmed. He shuddered at the thought. What a difficult boyfriend Louis would be, they’d be terrible together.

“Oh, my apologies…” Malik said. He sent Liam a small look before wandering off again. Liam sent Niall a look who shrugged his shoulders and set their course for Vulcan space, expected time, two hours.

* * *

 

A throbbing pain was what woke Louis up from his deep sleep. He winced as he tried to open his eyes, his eyesight becoming clearer and clearer the more time moved on. The room was blurry but once he regained his sight everything became clear.

He was in a dark, damp cell? There was the sound of trickling water and the smell of rotten flesh. He groaned as he tried to sit up and was immediately greeted with a loud sob.

“Louis!” Louis turned to Harry’s voice. In the cell closest to him was Harry. His pale skin was inked with bruises ranging from around his face, neck and down to his lower chest. His shirt was ripped and his hair a mess, his eyes red signalling that he’d been crying. He dry sobbed and tried to reach his hands out to grab Louis but the chain around them stopped him. He whimpered and Louis sat up straighter. “They said you were most likely dead and I couldn’t see you breathing and… and…”

“Shush.” Louis settled him, nudging as close to the dividing bars as he could. He smiled weakly, pain erupting through his head. He knew he had gotten of lighter than Harry because he’d been knocked out. “Where are we?” He asked. Harry coughed and closed his eyes, letting out a puff of air from his plump lips. Louis watched as his First Officer licked them slowly.

“After you were knocked out the Klingon just stared at you for a few minutes. I obviously tried to wake you up… I called for you and…” Harry gulped before continuing, “He picked you up and chucked you over his shoulder like you didn’t weigh a thing. I tried to ask for peace but he just grabbed me by my neck and took us out to where his ship was docking. It was a small ship, shaped like a discovery craft but I don’t know. He tossed you into the back like a puppet and then hit me a few times so I wouldn’t try and escape.”

“The fucker.” Louis growled. Harry sniffed and wiped his eyes quickly.

“Then I must have fell asleep because the next thing I know we’re getting off the ship and being pulled into these cells.”

“So… You don’t know where we are?” Louis asked. Harry smiled sadly and pointed to the window just above their heads, easily accessible to look out of but small enough that they couldn’t escape. Louis looked over, trying to stand up as well. He managed it and he stared out.

“Oh I know where we are, Louis.” Louis shook his head, eyes wide with fear. “Welcome to Qo’noS,” Louis closed his eyes, a singular tear falling down his cheek. They were surely doomed. Nothing could get worse than this. “Or in the English tongue… Kronos.”

Looking back at them through the window was the Klingon home planet and its capital, the First City. It was meek, dull, raining and grey. The Klingon home world never looking particularly attractive to anyone.

“I’ve never been this far from home.” Harry whispered. Louis didn’t look at him, biting his tongue in anger. “Do you think we’ll die here?” Louis shook his head quickly and eyed the younger lad. He was curled up by the bars, green eyes worried.

“No. We’ll find a way out. And our fleet will help us, don’t worry.” Louis felt that lying to the boy was better, he had no idea how they’d escape, _if_ they’d escape. But, he had to do something. He pressed his face close to the bars, sinking down again and looking directly at Harry. “Tell me everything you know about Klingons.” Louis was so glad he had Harry as the boy nodded fiercely. He breathed in and began.

“The Klingons are a humanoid warrior species that Kronos, an M-class planet in the Beta Quadrant. They are one of the major powers of the galaxy, and the Klingons are a proud, tradition-bound set of people who value honour and combat. The aggressive Klingon culture has made them an interstellar military power to be respected and feared.”

“Right… And the Government, who would we appeal to?” Louis asked, settling down in the most comfortable position to listen to Harry.

“Officially, the Klingon Empire was a feudal monarchy, with power residing in the Emperor, who was traditionally a descendant of Kahless. De facto, however, power lay with the Klingon High Council. The position of emperor was abandoned fairly recently so we have to assume that a Council will be held for our trial.” Harry dropped off at the end and sighed.

“Okay.” Louis nodded his head, trying to get to grips with it all. “Currency?”

“Darsek,” Harry replied monotonously, head hanging slightly. “God knows how much they’d ask for in return of our lives.” Louis laughed hollowly.

“Let’s just hope someone out there is looking for us.”

* * *

 

“Sir we have reached our destination.” Niall said, locking down the screen. Liam watched as Malik directed for the screen to be brought up in front of them. Niall did so and they all watched in awe.

“Where the hell did he get that?” Liam asked. In front of them sat a large vessel, two times bigger than the Enterprise. It sat in space, daunting. Vulcan lay behind it, the peaceful planet looking so small compared to the Starfleet vessel.

“Dreadnought class. Two times the size, three times the speed. Advanced weaponry. Modified for a minimal crew. Unlike most Federation vessels, it's built solely for combat.” Niall recalled. Malik and Liam sent him a querying look.

“Cowell was head of my thesis, after I handed it in I overheard him talking to someone about this.”

“Why would he have a combat ship?” Liam asked. Malik shrugged slowly and Niall replied with a soft “I don’t know.”

“Niall, bring up the screen, please. Right. USS Armageddon this is the USS Enterprise, permission to speak with Admiral Cowell.” A soft pause came before the screen illuminated and a first officer smiled at them.

“Greetings, Enterprise. Admiral Cowell is currently on the planet Vulcan, would you like for us to call for him?” Malik shook his head.

“This is of the upmost importance. We will see ourselves to him.” The officer nodded and bided them farewell. “Payne, you will escort me down to Vulcan.” Liam nodded.

“We’ll need someone trained in combat.”

“I am!” Niall cried. The two loomed at him in disbelief but nodded for him to follow anyway. Malik noted for one of the other crew members to take control for a while.

Mark greeted them with smiles as they arrived down in the bay. He pointed out a small craft they could take down to Vulcan safely and quickly. The three nodded and proceeded to enter the small craft. Niall took the controls and Malik sat next to him, belting up. Liam sat in the back and took a deep breath. He hated flying.

“So,” Liam stated as they took off, grabbing onto the seat in despair. “What kind of combat are you a specialist in, Niall?” Niall shot him a glance before they entered Vulcan gravity.

“Fencing.” Liam let out a deep sigh and Malik gave Niall a ‘are you serious?’ kind of look.

“Brilliant.”

“Close to home though, lads!” Niall said happily. “Only sixteen light years away.” Liam nodded happily but watched as Malik cringed. Home was a different place for him, clearly.

Soon they had landed on Vulcan. And wow was it different to anything Liam had seen. This was the place he definitely wanted a home on.

Liam knew from all the books he had read that Vulcan had a considerably higher gravity, thinner atmosphere, and higher temperatures than Earth. He also knew that its climate was generally harsh, with most of the surface consisting of large deserts or mountain ranges, along with scattered small seas.

But this was beautiful. This city was built in a desert, on the edge of Vulcan's Forge and was warm, bustling and loud. The Vulcan people all smiled as the three of them made their way up to the higher city where they would find, hopefully, Admiral Cowell.

“Welcome to ShiKahr, boys.” An old Vulcan woman said. The boys smiled and she handed them an apple each. Liam nodded, he would most definitely live here.

The three boys scrambled up the streets towards the higher part and were greeted by some federal Starfleet officers. Each were told to hand over any weapons they may have. Liam raised an eyebrow but Malik sent him a look. They then were allowed into the temple like building which was lowly lighted by flames.

Malik walked first, some of the elder councilmen sending him looks. Liam looked on in confusion until Niall nudged him and whispered in his ear.

“Romulan’s and Vulcans don’t necessarily get on even if they’re cousins.” Liam watched as a few Vulcans whispered in each other’s ears, most likely foul things about the Romulan wandering through the halls.

Finally they reached a large throne-esque room. Sat in front of them were three Vulcan councilmen and Admiral Cowell. Cowell turned to look at them, surprise etched across his face.

“Boys, what’re you doing here?” He asked, signing for them to take a seat. They did so and accepted the beverage laid out before them. “If I am not correct, all three of you are still in training.” Their eyes slunk to the table, almost as if they were schoolboys being told off.

“Sir, we have an issue.” Cowell’s eyebrows rose up and he tilted his drink to allow them to continue. “After the fleets left for the distressed ship, a certain member convinced us to take part in taking a ship and following them.” Liam stared at Malik as he practically sold out that it was Louis’ idea on his own, that he forced them to do it. “When we came to the coordinates there had been a massacre, by the Klingon fleet we assume.”

“Is this true?” Cowell asked the other two who could only nod, no matter how much Liam wanted to interject about things.

“The member who initiated it announced himself captain and once on arrival beamed himself and his first officer aboard the Sirius in hopes of finding Captain Corden.” Cowell placed his drink down and stared at them.

“Who was this member?” He asked coolly. Liam shook his head and stared at Malik, trying to tell him not to rat Louis in.

“Louis Tomlinson, sir.” Liam banged his fist on the table. It was ignored.

“And the first officer?”

“Harry Styles, sir.”

“Styles? How in the world did that excuse of a Captain manage to convince one of the brightest minds out there to willingly follow him onto a dangerous vessel?”

“I believe he forced Styles, sir.”

“What?!” Both Niall and Liam cried. Cowell shot them a look but remained calm.

“I see. Well, this calls for desperate measures. We send my fleet to Klingon space, retrieve Tomlinson and Styles, try to form some sort of agreement with the barbarians that call themselves Klingons and then put Tomlinson under house arrest. He needs to be stopped.”

“Sir, I-“

“Payne is it?” Liam nodded as Cowell looked at him directly. “One wrong move and we could not only lose both Styles AND Tomlinson but ALSO end up waging war against the Klingon Empire. Do you want that?” Liam shook his head. “Well then do as I say, lieutenant and get back to your ship. You are all to remain here apart from Malik, you come with me.”

Liam watched on in anger as Cowell and Malik left the temple, preparing themselves to go back to the battlefield and collect the other two. Once they had gone, Liam sprung himself onto Niall and stared at him.

“What was that about?” Niall shrugged.

“How the fuck should I know?”

“That bastard just sold Louis down the river, for what? Approval?” Niall looked to the floor for a moment. “What do we do?” Liam started to pace, ignoring the looks of the Vulcans. Niall paused for a moment until his head shot up quicker than Liam had ever seen him move.

“Do you have any injections?” Liam stared at him. “Medical Code?” Liam’s face slowly lit up and he nodded. They had a plan.

 

Niall was heavier than he looked, Liam found out after dragging him up to the USS Armageddon just before they were set to leave Vulcan. A large burly security officer stopped them before they could get on and Niall whined, his face red and blotchy.

“Neither of you are cleared for duty upon the Armageddon.” He said swiftly, his eyes scanning Niall’s pale form.

“Medical code states "The treatment and transport of a patient is to be determined at the discretion of his attending physician”. Now would you like to explain to the Starfleet board why this man could not be treated correctly because some security guard didn’t allow him on the ship?” The man did them a once over before sighing.

“As you were.” He said, moving to the side. Liam scoffed.

“As YOU were!” He dragged Niall up the platform, heaving. “Come on!” And they were aboard, and off to save Louis and Harry.

 

* * *

 

A large clanking noise alerted Harry and Louis to the presence of the Klingon guard. He was tall, big shouldered and ugly. He opened both cells and grunted. Louis carefully rose and the guard unhooked his handcuffs, his grip tight as a vice. He did the same for Harry who whimpered in pain. Louis sent him a sympathetic look.

They were then taken down some meek halls lighted by candles and flames to a council room. It was large, ominous and bleak. Somewhere that Louis felt rather comfortable being in. In the corners were the skulls of different species all lined up in rows of ten. Louis felt Harry wince besides him and he suddenly grabbed Harry’s hand, for comfort. The taller boy relaxed, lacing his fingers, trembling as he did so.

_“qaH.”_

The head Klingon nodded sharply to the guard who then left the two in the middle of the room. The other Klingons sat in a circle around them, their chairs high and mighty.

 _“quama.”_ Louis looked to Harry. The curly haired lad was repeating it under his breath, his forehead creasing as he concentrated. Harry opened his mouth but Louis tugged on his hand. The curly haired boy stared at him with fiery eyes.

“Louis. We are outnumbered, outgunned and we will die if we don’t do anything.” Louis looked to the ground. “I can speak Klingon,” Louis found himself gazing into Harry’s eyes quickly, “so let me speak Klingon.” Louis released his hand and Harry walked forward, eyes concentrating on the main leader.

 _“QoS, eyjo juH.”_ From Harry’s tone it was clear to see he was speaking in broken Klingon. An angry looking one shouted across the hall from them.

_“qatlh jISaH DISaH?”_

“Help us because we have done no wrong.” Harry said, answering the question the Klingon laid out to them. Louis stepped forward, placing a hand on Harry’s back when he saw that the Klingon’s were not convinced.

“I am a man of honour.” He began, in hopes of riling something up in their dark hearts. “My crew now have no Captain.” He spoke slowly, knowing that Klingon’s barely spoke English. “I need to get back to them. If you release us we will forget all about this.”

A silence fell upon the room as the Klingon’s watched Louis carefully, their eyes dark and calculating.

“What is name?” The head asked, tilting his head to the side. Louis felt a shudder run through him before he spoke.

“Louis W. Tomlinson.” A small smirk appeared on the Klingon’s face.

“I know that name.” Louis’ heart started to pick up and his stomach dropped. “ _This is Captain Tomlinson of the Federation, hand over the fleet.”_ He mocked and Louis saw red. “Your father?” He asked with a huge grin. Louis felt sick as the Klingon’s in the room laughed loudly, cackling. One pointed his finger to the set of skulls.

“We never found head.” He bellowed with a laugh and Louis started to tremble with anger, his fists clenching. Harry stood beside him, worried eyes watching Louis.

“I’ve asked you. What are your terms?” Louis questioned, trying to verge off the path of his father. His mind was all hazy as thoughts of his dead father in pain or fear flooded him.

“We think.” The Klingon responded. Louis nodded curtly and allowed the large Klingon to chain him up again. Not thinking, Louis spoke in the few Klingon words he knew.

 _“lo'Be Vos.”_ Besides him, Louis heard Harry’s audible gasp.

“Louis!” He cried. Louis didn’t relent. He knew he had called the Klingon’s an insult that meant they had no courage and he’d face the consequences.

“You!” The Klingon bellowed, as the others shouted and roared in anger. “Will be feed to Saber Bear.” Louis froze up and looked to Harry whose face was drained of all colour.

“Fuck.” Louis said and Harry nodded, a tear streaking down his face.

“You will die.” The Klingon commander said before they were taken out of the room and prepared for their battle against the most dangerous beast on the planet. There was little hope left and Louis prayed that Liam had a plan, wherever he was.

 


End file.
